This is a place for all those trying to find the MUSE - especially teachers looking for ways to motivate their students to find JOY in writing.
My philosophy is this: The muse hides within knowledge and wonderment. Take this knowledge and wonderment and create something new with it – something that it has never been. I suggest a story! Before E.B White, an ordinary grey spider had never been best friends with a pig. Before L. Frank Baum we had never heard of the Wicked Witch of the West, let alone her troop of winged monkeys.
Monkeys, spiders, witches and pigs – Oh my! The muse was found in each one of these topics. The knowledge and wonderment behind these topics fueled the imagination for the story. And we are still reading them today.
We can and will do the same thing!
Each week, I will provide what I call an “Imagination Chronicle”. Here I will uncover strange and extraordinary facts about people, places, things, and ideas. Maybe you will find the muse for yourself in some of these Imagination Chronicles. But I really hope you share this knowledge with a child.
Encourage children to express themselves through the written word. Tell them to imagine words like a box of crayons. The possibilities are limitless. Yes, LIMITLESS!
And remember to let them wear their writer’s hats. They can wear their editor’s hats later – preferably on a different day. Writing and editing are two completely different ballgames. And we do not want to confuse a child, or they may not want to write.
Well, I’m off to the moon for now. I’ll be back shortly. Until then, look for the muse, and let me know what you find.
With Imagination,
Prof. Watermelon
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